A Fragment: The Bad Thief (Gestas)

Perino del Vaga's fragment depicting the Bad Thief Gestas — the unrepentant criminal crucified opposite the Good Thief Dismas — forms a pair with the companion Dismas fragment also in the Royal Collection. Together these fragments testify to a larger Crucifixion composition that Perino designed or executed around 1522. Gestas traditionally appears writhing or defiant in contrast to Dismas's repentant posture, giving the pair a moral contrast embodying the divergent human responses to divine suffering. The survival of both thieves' fragments as companion pieces is significant for reconstructing Perino's approach to the Crucifixion narrative.

The Bad Thief is rendered with the same elegant anatomical command as his Dismas companion, but his posture and expression convey resistance or anguish rather than spiritual openness. Perino's Raphaelesque training is evident in the graceful articulation of the bound figure.